


Rivalry

by wei



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-17
Updated: 2011-09-17
Packaged: 2017-10-23 19:42:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/254148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wei/pseuds/wei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times Ino outdoes Sakura</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the three times meme at naruto_meme. Prompt: Three times Ino outdoes Sakura.

Sakura was nine, and there was no one like Ino. No one as generous, kind, insightful, daring, and confident. Ino was everything she was not, and with every ounce of her being, Sakura wanted to be Ino.

\--

For one terrible, never ending month in Sakura’s fifth year at the Academy, she was not the top of her class. Ino was. By that point, they weren’t speaking to each other and hearing the smug satisfaction in Ino’s voice when once again, she was the only one who knew what the teacher was talking about made Sakura want to tear out her hair. (Ino’s and her own.)

Classification. Breeding. Extracting drugs. Detecting infused poisons. The practical. The theoretical. For one month, everyone, from the teachers to the students worshiped her (not that the students ever didn’t), and Ino deserved it.

(She’s a Yamanaka they murmured to each other).

For one month, Sakura was irritable, churlish, and uncharitable. This was what having ninja parents gave you.

For one month, Sakura was no one again.

\--

Even after they have all made chuunin, Team 10 still meets every week for dinner.

Sakura’s still waiting for her teammates to come home.


End file.
